


I got you something

by DauntingSagas



Series: Aliit ori'shya tal'din [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Din Djarin Removes the Helmet, Din Djarin is Bad at Feelings, F/M, Fluff, Grogu gets all the toys, I know surprising for these two, Life Day Fluff, Mando slips and calls OFC by a Mando'a word, No one sees his face, OFC is Bad at Feelings, Oops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:09:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28324359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DauntingSagas/pseuds/DauntingSagas
Summary: It’s Life Day which means Aili and Mando have to get presents for each other and the Child. One is easy to shop for but what do you get someone that you are barely becoming able to tolerate in your space? Aili and Mando are about to find out.Takes place after Chapter 11 of Cabur but doesn't mention any spoilers of Chapters 10/11
Relationships: Din Djarin & Grogu | Baby Yoda, Din Djarin/Original Female Character(s), Grogu | Baby Yoda & Original Female Character(s), The Mandalorian/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Aliit ori'shya tal'din [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2065905
Comments: 8
Kudos: 34





	I got you something

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place after Tatooine but I don’t really mention what will happen in those chapters of Cabur so no spoilers here (I mean other than Toro Calican still betrays them but that's not really a spoiler since it happened in show)

They had stopped on some random planet, needing more supplies and they were both equally confused by how busy the market was. Aili held Little Green a little tighter in her arms, not enough to hurt him but she didn’t like taking him into crowds. Too much could go wrong in crowds. She looked up at Mando, a question in her eyes. 

“We need supplies,” he shrugged though she could see the way his shoulders were tense and he was keeping one hand by his holster.

“We’ll meet back up here in thirty minutes?” Aili asked. She could barter for things quickly but she wasn’t sure about the Mandalorian. He seemed to be thinking it over before he finally nodded. 

“If you run into any trouble, just scream or something.”

“I’m a grown woman, I’m not going to scream when I can deal with the problem myself.” Aili tried not to sound too insulted but she felt the way her face scrunched up in irritation. 

“With the Child in hand?” Mando asked, tilted his helmet to the side. He knew that he had been able to take out a few of the other hunters back on Nevarro when he rescued the Child but then he was stuck on a lift with nowhere to go. 

“Especially if I have the Child with me.” Aili gave him one last shake of her head before she turned to leave for the closest booth. It was a small fruit stand but they seemed to be selling jewelry as well. It wasn’t the oddest set-up Aili had seen but it was pretty weird. 

She picked a couple of fruits, handing over the credits before putting everything away in the stachel she usually carried Little Green in. The woman running the booth smiled wide at her and leaned forward. “Have you bought this little one a present yet?”

“I’m sorry?” Aili asked, brow furrowed in confusion. Why would she buy a present on a random day?

The woman’s smile faded and her own brow furrowed but in disappointment. “For Life Day? Have you bought him a present yet?”

Aili had a moment of panic, it couldn’t be Life Day yet. Could it? “Um.”

“Oh dear, well good thing I know just the booth you should head to.” The woman seemed to understand the panic that Aili was now feeling. “If you head down that way, there’s a booth where the woman sells handmade toys that are perfect for his age. And I noticed you were travelling with a Mandalorian?”

“Yes?”

“That’s a lot of armor, bet it’s hard to keep clean.”

Aili really hoped the woman wasn’t trying to suggest that she was the one who cleaned Mando’s armor because she wasn’t a housewife. She wasn’t even a  _ wife _ of any kind, just because she was carrying a child with her and picking out fruits...

But she did have to get him something now that she knew it was Life Day and he had yet to kick her off the Crest despite her multiple threats against him. It was just the principle of the matter now. Plus this woman did not look like she would take no for an answer. “I think he might need something more like a new comlink, maybe a matching set?”

“Even better,” the woman smiled before pointing towards another booth. “That’s where you’ll want to go for comlinks.”

“Thank you,” Aili was about to leave when a bracelet caught her eye. It was made of small beads, mostly black but with a colorful pattern of beads in the middle. She partially reached out before shaking her head and turning to leave, one last smile for the woman. She didn’t notice the woman tilt her head in thought before looking to see where the Mandalorian was and a smile crossing her face. 

Aili headed for the first booth the woman had pointed out, picking out a toy for Little Green. Okay so maybe she bought two so he could stop looking at her with those wide pleading eyes and grabby hands. One toy for now, one for later. She glanced around to see where Mando was, seeing him at the booth with the woman she had just been talking to. Good.

She walked as fast as she could over to the other booth the woman had pointed out, this one run by a girl younger than Aili but that wasn’t saying much. There was grease on her face and she was tinkering with something rather than looking to get people to come to her booth. She looked up as Aili walked up, a bored expression on her face. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah I heard you have comlinks,” Aili said.

“Depends, what kind do you want?” She kept tinkering with the piece of tech in her hands and Aili was impressed that she didn’t even have to look at it to repair it. That meant she spent a lot of time working with tech and knew it like the back of her hand. 

“A connected pair, one handheld and if possible, one that can get fitted for a Mandalorian helmet,” Aili requested, running her hands over a few of the other things on display that seemed like they could be useful. She pulled her hands away, they didn’t need any of that right now. 

That got the younger woman’s attention as she placed what she was working on down and she stood up from her seat in order to lean towards Aili. “A Mandalorian helmet? You have one?” 

“I’m travelling with a Mandalorian and we don’t have decent comlinks.”Aili really wasn’t lying, they didn’t have comlinks at all but she didn’t see herself parting ways from Mando any time soon. That meant they needed a way to communicate if something went wrong and they didn’t want anyone else listening in. 

“Can I install it? I’ve never been able to get my hands on one but it’s been on my bucket list for ages.”

Aili winced knowing that there was no way Mando would let that happen. Unless…

“Would you be available on Life Day?” Aili asked, knowing that this was still a long shot but she had to try. “I’ll pay extra for a second handheld as well.”

The woman waved her hand, “Please, I’ll throw the second one in for free if you can get me alone with that helmet for however long it takes me to install the comlink.”

“We’re parked in the bay, it’s the Razor Crest. You really can’t miss that piece of...something,” Aili commented, once again missing her ship. 

“Oh Maker, a Razor Crest? You two must be  _ close _ .”

“Yeah, sure.” Aili said bluntly, mouth pulled into a thin line. “How much for it all?”

“250, Life Day  _ and  _ bucket list discount. It’ll be ready by Life Day.”

Aili pulled out 300 credits and handed them to the woman who took them excitedly. Aili was about to thank her and leave when she paused. “Stupid question, but we’ve been in space for too long, how long until Life Day?”

“Day after tomorrow,” the woman shrugged like she didn’t care about the short timeframe. “They’ll be ready.”

“Thanks.” Aili finally turned to leave knowing that she had taken much longer than the 30 minutes that she and Mando had agreed on. She was already ready to tune out whatever lecture he tried to give her. She was still a grown woman who could clearly handle herself. 

“You’re late.”

“Had to order something,” Aili said lightly. “We’ll need to stay until the day after tomorrow.”

“It’s not-”

“Safe? Mando, it’s almost Life Day, it’s the safest we could be on any planet.” Aili interrupted before he could go into a lecture. She really didn’t want to hear it. “Now can we head back to the ship? The kid’s tired and I could use a nap too.”

She stared up at Mando and waited with a raised eyebrow to see if he would try to continue the conversation. He stared down at her before letting out a long sigh, nodding his helmet towards the bay where they had landed. Aili let a smile cross her face now, knowing that she had gotten her way. Now to figure out how to get his helmet off and the new comlink installed without breaking his Creed. That was a problem for day after tomorrow Aili though.

_ *Run away to a place where you can breathe* _

The morning of Life Day was an early one for Aili, she had gotten up before both Mando and Little Green in order to meet up with the woman to pick up the handheld comlinks. They also set up a time for her to come to the Crest in order to attempt to put the comlink in Mando’s helmet. Aili admittedly didn’t have a plan for that just yet. But that was a problem for early-afternoon Aili, not early-morning Aili who hadn’t even had caf yet.

She got back onto the Crest as quietly as she could, the silence telling her that hopefully both Mando and Little Green were still asleep.

“Where did you go?”

“Dank farrik!” Aili exclaimed as she jumped slightly, her hands coming up in fists before she put them back down. She turned to glare at Mando who was leaning against the wall panel to her immediate right. Little Green was nowhere to be seen so he was probably still sleeping. “Don’t do that!”

“Where did you go?” Mando repeated his question, still waiting for an answer from Aili. 

“I had a package to pick up, I told you that two days ago.”

“Before the suns are up?”

“If you’re accusing me of something, just come out and say it.” Aili crossed her arms in front of her chest, staring up at Mando with her lips pursed as she waited for him to speak. “Well?”

“I--you left without telling me.”

Aili blinked at him dumbly before she took a breath to calm herself before she spoke again. “Again, you knew I had a package to get. Look, it’s Life Day and I don’t feel like arguing. I was picking up your present and yes, before you ask, I got you something.”

“Why?”

“Because you haven’t kicked me off your ship despite threatening to kill you multiple times? I don’t know,” Aili explained, shrugging her shoulders. She couldn’t explain why she felt the need to buy the gift. It wasn’t as simple as buying Little Green a stuffed animal, that was easy to explain to herself. A bit of normalcy for him after they had to leave Sorgan and all the other kids behind. She convinced herself it was something practical and barely a gift since half was for her. 

Mando finally pushed away from the wall but kept staring at Aili. Sometimes she really hated not being able to see his face, she had to rely on body language to know what he was thinking. But this was one of those times where she couldn’t read it. She heard him take in a breath when he was interrupted by a cry and they both turned towards it. 

Aili didn’t give Mando the chance to even take a single step before she was off towards the hatch of the cot to get Little Green. She shushed him as she picked him up, rocking him a little once he was in her arms. “Hey, buddy, do you know what today is?”

He let out a little sniffle, wide brown eyes still watery because he had woken up to no one in the cot with him. He reached up to place his hands in Aili’s hair like he usually did when she was holding him and it was down. She smiled a little and lifted him in her arms more so he didn’t pull on her hair too hard. Even if she had looked up she wouldn’t have seen the way Mando was looking at the pair of them with a soft smile on his own face, not with the helmet hiding his face from her. 

“It’s Life Day which means presents...and a lot of caf for me,” Aili said in a bit of a sing-song tone. It was the same one she had used on Shaeli and Jaesa when she had first brought them to the Covert. They had a hard time with her leaving since she was the only mother-like figure they had known and they were still so young. Little Green let out a coo at the mention of presents. Aili glanced up at Mando, a question in her eyes as she subtly nodded down at Little Green, and she let a smile cross her face when he nodded back. Good.

“Well then shall we open some presents?”

Little Green was happily playing with his new stuffed animals, on his blanket on the floor beside the table where Aili and Mando awkwardly sat with their gifts for each other. Aili had gotten the kid a porg the day they went to the market that he had been sleeping with but she had also gotten him a little stuffed vulptex, surprised they had even had one. Mando had gotten him a stuffed mudhorn and she assumed it was somehow significant because Little Green had let out the loudest happy noise when he saw it. Even Mando had let out a chuckle at the sound. 

“Do you want to go first or should I?” Aili asked, her hands clutching the small box that the tech had given her. She didn’t even know why she was nervous. 

“Here.” Mando said awkwardly as he passed a small wrapped package towards her. She took it and unwrapped it before just staring in surprise. 

Maker, she was getting soft. Aili stared down at the bracelet that she had been staring at when they had been at the market. She hadn’t even known he had seen her but now him going to that booth made more sense. She finally looked up at him, still taken aback but with a small smile on her face. “Thank you.”

“I noticed you wanted it but,” Mando started to say but stopped himself and he settled for a small shrug. He had spent the last couple of days telling himself that it had been stupid to buy it. But the look on Aili’s face was worth it, the smile unexpected but a welcome surprise.

“Um, I didn’t have time to wrap yours but here,” Aili said as she slid the box the tech had given her, across the small table. She watched as Mando took it, opening it slowly and then his helmet tilted to the side. It wasn’t as personal as the bracelet he had given her but it was practical and he was a practical man. 

“Comlinks?”

“They’re, um, locked in on a private setting so no one else will be able to intercept the comms. I just figured we needed them,” Aili trailed off with a small shrug. 

Mando stared at her for a long moment before looking back down at the comlinks in his hands. He passed one back over to Aili, tucking the one he kept into one of the many pockets on his belt. “Thank you.”

“There’s also...another comm but the tech wanted to install it herself. I wasn’t sure you’d be okay with it though.”

Mando tilted his helmet to the side in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“So first, I know what your Creed entails, no one can remove your helmet, no one can see you without it but um, I figured we could figure something out and-”  _ Maker _ , why was she so kriffin’ nervous about asking a simple question?

“Aili, just say what you’re trying to say.”

“She worked out a way to install the comlink directly inside your helmet and connected to your vambrace but obviously in order to do that,” Aili trailed off again, this time biting her lip knowing that it had been a dumb idea and that Mando would never go for it. 

“I’d have to remove my helmet.” Mando stated, the tone in his voice unreadable to even Aili who had been slowly learning to hear past the voice modulator. 

“Yeah. I’m sorry, I knew it was a stupid idea and I should’ve just stuck with the handhelds. I’ll let her know,” Aili said, fidgeting with the bracelet now, running her fingers over the beads. She silently counted the colored beads that felt slightly different than the black ones. There were seven of them.

“How much?”

“What?”

“How much did they cost?”

Aili took a moment, knowing she was going to have to lie a little and hope Mando couldn’t see through her. “300 but it’s fine, I had the extra credits and I figured we needed them just in case of another Toro situation and-”

“ _ Mesh’la _ it-” Mando interrupted before he paused for a long moment, tense as if he was waiting for something to happen. 

Aili’s brow furrowed as she wracked her brain, going through all the Mando’a words she had learned but that was not one of them. She didn’t think at least but there were a lot she didn’t know, she had mainly wanted to know the insults. “I..is that another word for idiot or something?”

Mando let out the breath he had been holding, relief that Aili couldn’t see crossing his face. “No, it’s a-it’s not an insult. I promise.”

“Uh-huh.” Aili hummed, not sure she believed him. But he hadn’t said it like an insult, her ears had registered it as more exasperated so she wasn’t sure. It wasn’t like she could open the HoloNet and look it up though so she would just take his word for it.

“She can install the comlink,” Mando finally said without any preamble. 

“What?”

“I’ll go up to the cockpit, leave my...leave my helmet and vambrace outside the door and she can install the comm.”

“Seriously?” Aili hadn’t expected him to agree in a million years. 

“Yes. But you’ll have to keep the Child down here with you.” He made it sound like that would be a hardship for her like he wasn’t the one who was about to remove his helmet and hope that Aili didn’t go back on her word to stay out of the cockpit. 

“Of course. We'll have a great time playing mudhorn vs porg vs vulptex so really you'll be the one missing out." 

_ *Run away to a place without painful tears* _

“Thank you again.” Aili smiled at the tech as she packed up her travel kit. Aili was holding Mando’s helmet in her hands, his vambrace in the crook of her elbow as she was careful not to hit any of the buttons. 

“Seriously don’t mention it, I’m just excited that I finally got to have a look at a Mando helmet.” The look of manic excitement on the tech’s face reminded Aili of some of her only "happy" memories from growing up. Like when she had been given brand new blasters to try in the field, the manic grin on her face the first time she saw a seismic charge in action and was told that next time she'd be the one to set it off.

“Still, you came all the way out here on Life Day.”

“This was the best present I could have received so,” the tech grinned and shrugged. “Come back if something isn’t working right though.”

“Will do.” Aili waved as the tech left and she closed the gangway before she checked to make sure Little Green was still in his cradle, his earlier playing tiring him out. It hadn't taken Aili long to rock him to sleep at all, he was out before the tech had even finished working on the helmet. 

She headed for the ladder that led to the cockpit and placed Mando's things down right in front of the doors. She knocked only loud enough for him to hear her. "I'm heading back down, take as much time as you need." Then she slid back down the ladder and busied herself, picking up the toys still lying around and folding the small blanket they used as Little Green's play space when they needed him in one spot. 

She had just finished when she heard Mando speak but he wasn’t in the room. Her brow furrowed until she remembered the comlink in her own pocket. “Mando?”

“Just testing it out,” he replied. Aili was surprised by how clear his voice sounded but she supposed that was what she had hoped for when she asked for it to be installed into the helmet itself. 

“Wow, that sounds really good. How does it sound on your end?” Aili asked into her comlink.

“As clear as transparisteel.” 

Aili jumped, Mando’s voice not just coming from the comlink but from right behind her. “I am going to get you a bell if you sneak up on me again.”

“Sorry.” He didn’t sound sorry at all but Aili was going to let that slide as she clicked off her comlink. 

“It’s fine, I’m just glad it’s working.”

“Thank you.”

Aili stared up at him, almost waiting for one of them to make a snarky comment but it never came. She opened her mouth to say something when Little Green made a noise and they both looked over at him simultaneously. His face was scrunched up and Aili glanced over at the chronometer and realized that he was probably hungry. 

“It’s your turn to make food,” she said to Mando as she walked over to Little Green to distract him until the food was ready. Mando stood there in shock for a full minute before he moved for the little area that Aili had designated as the kitchen area. He would never admit out loud, or anywhere near her, that it had been a good idea. He had spent years just eating ration bars grabbed straight from a crate but Aili had taken one look at it and turned to him with an unimpressed look before reorganizing the whole area. 

He prepared a simple meal with the supplies they had bought at the market, listening to Aili and the Child quietly laughing as they played with his new toys. He didn’t want to put a name to the way the sounds made him feel but he knew that he was glad to not be alone on Life Day for another year and secretly hoped that he wouldn’t be again. 


End file.
